He then studied in the US, with Dickson Titus in San Francisco, and at the Ravinia Festival Steans Institute in Chicago with Hakan Hagegard, Barbara Bonney, Martin Katz and Philip Moll.
Early studies and apprenticeships for this role included directorship of The Athenaeum Singers in Warminster, studying under Sir Charles Mackerras ENO), and taking positions as Assistant Conductor at the Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte di Montepulciano under Jan Latham-Koenig (Tippett's Knot Garden, Henze's Das Wundertheater and Weill's Mahagonny Songspiel) and at the Wexford Festival under David Agler (Donizetti's Maria di Rohan, Fauré's Pénélope, Susa's Transformations, Dvořák's Rusalka and Donizetti's Don Gregorio).
He made his operatic conducting debut at Wexford with the Peter Brook version of Bizet’s Carmen, which was nominated for ‘Best Opera Production of 2007’ in the Irish Times National Arts Awards.
In 2006 he was appointed Associate Principal Conductor of the Bath Philharmonia, with whom he premiered Paul Carr's Requiem for An Angel – now a staple on the choral scene, with numerous performances in the UK and North America.
In April 2007 Gavin Carr made his debut with the English Chamber Orchestra, conducting Emma Kirkby, Sarah Connolly and James Gilchrist in the St Matthew Passion in Bath Abbey.
These performances led to an engagement for 2015 to conduct Eugene Onegin, with a cast including Mark Stone, Anna Patalong, Diana Mpntague, David Rendall and Brindley Sherratt.
The years 2013–15 saw him conduct his first War Requiem (BSC-BSO; Gilchrist, Loges, Kasyan), and his first Mahler 8 (Bournemouth and Bath forces, with the Amadeus Orchestra; they saw the establishment of annual Good Friday Passions at the Poole Lighthouse; they also featured tours to Cyprus and France with Chorus Angelorum, and the deepening of his studio practise as a vocal coach in opera and concert repertoire for leading young singers.